The Perfect Diamond Of Romans 8:28 Series

I want you to read it for yourself. Verse 29, "for whom He foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His son."

The good for which God causes all things to work together is making us, His beloved, more like Jesus. God desires our lives to be sweeter, and richer, and better, and deeper. That's the good. In every trial, God has two things in mind: your highest good and His greatest glory.

There will always be parts of it we won’t understand. And I go, what's up with that thing? Why that part of it? I don't get it all. I don't get it all.

But I'm OK with that. You know what the apostle James said? He said, we should even get to this point, "count it all joy, brothers, when you fall into various trials."

Why would you be excited about that? Because God has got something up His sleeve. Count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the trial of your faith produces patience. Let patience have its perfect work, that you might be complete and entire, lacking nothing. God has something going on. The trials of your faith produce steadfastness, and that steadfastness is making us more like Jesus.

Now, let’s look at the last C of Romans 8:28. We’ve seen certainty, cause, comprehensiveness, cohesiveness, and the culmination. But there’s one more. And that is the condition. You see, the promise of Romans 8:28 isn’t for everyone. It is “to those who love God and are allied according to His purpose.

You see, we can't take Verse 28 and just quote the part of the verse we like, "we know that all things work together for good." Because that's not what it says. It's given to someone.

It is given to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. That's the definition of a Christian. One who loves God and is called according to God’s purpose. Most of us only think about half of that definition. A Christian is someone who loves God. That’s the human definition. But God’s definition of a Christian is someone who called according to His purpose.

And what is that purpose? See, this is why you can’t quote Romans 8:28 without quoting Romans 8:29. Look at verse 29:

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

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Now we get the big picture. We go from eternity past to eternity future, from predestination and election all the way to glorification.

He foreknew. He predestined. He called. He justified.

He will glorify. The first four have already happened. You were known from very beginning of eternity. You were predestined to be God’s kid. God called you to Himself when you became a Christian. God justified you when you surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus.

And everything that happened to you leading up to your decision to follow Christ was God calling you. Everything that ever happened to you was so you would respond to God’s call, and so He could justify you.